Ice Curse
by Ejes
Summary: When Queen Elsa's spell wounds an Organization XIII member, Sora and his friends are faced with a tough decision. Should they let a Darkness die, which would be an asset in the upcoming war ; or save a life, even though breaking a Curse is no easy task?


_**Why, hello there! How's it going? Are you ready for a new one shot? (If not you can come back later v_v) I feel like the tags kind of spoil the fic but it was better that way. Enjoy!**_

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Sora shivered, and the endless winter of Arendelle had nothing to do with it.

"What… What should we do?"

Elsa was sitting on the other side of the room, her head buried in her hands. Donald and Goofy shook their heads, helpless. Only Lea, who had accompanied the trio on that day, didn't seem to care much.

"Can't we just turn around, leave and pretend that never happened?"

"Of course we can't!" Sora shouted, angry. Lea sighed.

"Very well. At least I tried. For the memo, this would make things much easier for us, though. Alright, any suggestion on how to get rid of that, Your Majesty?"

It was never easy to know whether Lea was serious or not - the way he called Elsa by her title could have been really sarcastic, or an actual sign of respect that his tone would have been the same.

"No, I don't… This is all my fault. Once again, these powers… This curse hurt someone, _again_. How many people will I still hurt before this is over?"

"To be fair, I still don't think this one would be quite a loss." Sora threw him a furious glare and Lea rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. For any curse, there is a cure. We just have to find the right one! Could you please explain to us what happened once again?"

Elsa nodded, her hands shaking. She cleared her throat, trying to tell the story with a steady voice.

"She appeared in this castle. It wasn't the first time I met her. She kept on telling me how impressive my powers were, what a shame it was that my family secluded me, instead of trying to help me. She said she was working with an Organization full of people with powers, just like me, that they could help me, and that they needed my help as well. She warned me about people saying they were working for the Light, saying they would only fear me, that they would ultimately hurt me because they wouldn't understand my powers. She said that someone as powerful as me belonged to Darkness."

"Typical of her," Lea snorted.

"I got angry," Elsa continued, "really angry. I told her to leave this place, that I didn't want to serve either Light or Darkness, that I just wanted to be left alone. But she insisted, and insisted again, and I… I never meant to throw that spell. I just wanted her to leave!" Elsa's voice cracked. Goofy put a hand on her shoulder with a comforting smile. Sora crossed his arms, staring at the body lying on the bed in front of them.

They had come back to Arendelle, worried that the Organization XIII would make a move on Elsa. And they instead found Elsa running to them, calling for help, as she took them to that room where they had the surprise to find an unconscious Larxene, cold as dead, barely breathing.

"Sora, I know you dislike the idea, but this time I need you to hear me out before saying no."

"Lea, that's a no. We are not letting her die without trying to help."

"I said you had to hear me out." Lea was doing his best to not be angry. Why wouldn't Sora face the facts? "She is our enemy. As far as we know, she is one of Xehanort's vessels - you saw her eyes as well as I did. If we let her live, we will have to fight her later again, and this fight can have only two outcomes - either she kills one of us, or she dies. What is the point of saving her now? Why postpone what is meant to happen anyway? Do you want to wait for her to kill someone you care about before acting? What if you save her and she kills Kairi?"

Lea wasn't sure he ever saw Sora that angry before. The boy snapped.

"Don't you dare bringing Kairi into this, _Axel_." Lea winced at the name. Sora usually called him Lea, so that wasn't a good sign. "You want to know why I want to save her, when she would let us die? Because we are not the Organization. You are not one of them anymore. On our side, we help people, even if they wouldn't do the same. We are not letting Elsa be responsible for someone's death, just because it would help us. Maybe there will come a time when we might have to fight her, to defeat her. But I will do all I can to make sure she doesn't die. I don't know about you, but my dreams are still haunted by the lives I took - even though they came back. I am not a murderer. And I think I need to remind you that you shouldn't be one either."

Lea felt bad. Ashamed. He got scolded by a teenager, and for very good reasons. Sora was right. This wasn't the Organization anymore. Letting someone die was out of the question. What would Roxas think of that? Lea realised with a chuckle that Roxas would probably have let Lea destroy Larxene without a blink. He had poorly educated that kid.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Sora… And Elsa. We will do all we can to help you." Even if that meant saving an enemy, he thought bitterly.

"Where to start? We could maybe cast a minor Fire spell to warm her or something?"

"I thought you said you weren't a murderer, Sora." Lea scoffed. For a second, he had thought about telling Sora it was a good idea, and get rid of Larxene for good, but somehow he felt Sora might have been slightly angrier afterwards.

"Well, there's always _this_ ", quacked Donald. Goofy looked at him. "Oh, you're right! _This_ always worked! Ah, but usually, it works only with Princesses, so I don't know if…"

"Stop being so vague and tell us what it is!" Sora snapped, although he didn't sound angry anymore. Donald and Goofy exchanged a meaningful look.

"There is an universal Cure to the deadliest Curses. So far, we only saw it work for Princesses, so there's no telling if that will work this time, but…"

"Love." Donald completed. "An act of true, pure love has saved many before. Aurora, Snow White…"

Silence fell. They all thought it, but no one dared say it. Finally, after a couple of minutes, Sora broke the silence to say the words they all shared in their mind.

"But… Where can we find someone who loves her enough to save her?"

"She is working with the Organization XIII. There is the possibility she doesn't have anyone left." Goofy sadly said.

"And given how mean she is, it wouldn't even be surprising!" Donald added.

Elsa's hands started shaking again. All hope was lost. Larxene would die, killed by her own hands, her own power.

Lea gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. He wasn't sure he was ready for what was to come, but he had no choice. He hoped he wasn't wrong. He hoped _they_ weren't wrong.

"Let me take care of it. I think I can save her."

Sora gasped, staring at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean, Lea? Do you mean that you… That she…"

Lea took a step back, disgust painted all across his face. "Urgh, please no. Remember that I was for letting her die five minutes ago. No way I would kiss her or anything, and there would be no love at all in that. She's annoying, she's a freak, she's mean… No. Never gonna happen. That's not what I had in mind. Hey, Donald, Goofy, in your legends, is the act supposed to be disinterested?"

"I think the purest it is, the more powerful it is. What are you thinking about?"

But Lea had already opened up a portal. "Wait for me, guys. I don't know how long it will take, but I will come back with a solution."

He disappeared, and the seconds turned into minutes, then into hours, without a sign of him. Sora started to wonder if he was not just trying to lose some time until Larxene's heart finally gave up on beating. Funny for someone supposed to have no heart to be doomed because of it, Sora bitterly thought, watching her chest slowly and painfully raise as she fought to breathe. They were enemies. Sora could get Lea's point, but he couldn't give up on someone, and he couldn't let Elsa bear this burden. Never would he be able to look at Kairi or Riku in the eyes if he did.

After a bit more than three hours, a dark corridor opened again. Sora summoned his weapon, just in case that wouldn't be Lea. If it wasn't indeed the redhead that crossed the portal first, Sora didn't really feel threatened by the body who landed on the icy floor, as if he'd been thrown violently through the portal.

"Sorry for the wait. Took a while to find him, and to catch him. We've got an expert at escaping any serious business here."

"That huuurts… Now what do you want from me, Axel? What have I done to you?"

"The name's Lea, now, Demyx. And try to look around and use your brain, for once in your life."

Sora stared at the young man with awe. This was one of the faces that haunted his dreams. A life he had taken. Demyx, the former Organization XIII number nine, and, given his black coat and golden eyes, a member of the new Organization as well. A fight Sora would rather forget. He wasn't sure why Lea had brought him there, though - none of the Organization members had a heart, so why bring one of them? Sora had hoped Lea would have brought back someone linked to Larxene's Somebody, a family member perhaps.

Demyx looked at them all, grimacing as he saw Sora, until his eyes finally landed on the sleeping woman. He froze.

"Did you bring me here so that she can kill me? Do you know how hard it is for me to escape her? Or… How long have you all been there staring at a sleeping person?"

"She's going to die, Demyx." Lea's voice was cold. Free of any feeling. It wasn't Lea's voice, it was Axel's, the voice of someone who couldn't care less about anything. Demyx frowned, but he didn't really react.

"She's just sleeping, Ax- Lea. If anything, you are all going to die when she wakes up. And I'd rather be somewhere else when that happens."

"What Lea said is right." Sora said, still unsure about Lea's plan. "She has been… Cursed. Her heart is slowly freezing as we speak."

"Ha! Now I know you're lying. We don't have hearts - I'm not even sure she had one when she was a Somebody. Have you ever talked to her? So now, if you'd excuse me, I have less important things to do somewhere els-" He got interrupted by Lea violently grabbing him by the neck.

"You can deny it if you want, but she's dying right there, under our eyes. Since we are the good guys, we decided to do something _good_ for her, so we brought you so that she can spend her last moments with you. Your choice, Demyx." He showed the portal behind him. "You can return to that world of yours and resume your nap, or you can at least hold her hand to let her know you're here. Choose whatever you want, we won't judge. You are part of the bad guys, we don't expect you to make sensitive choices. We won't even be in the room, so do whatever you want, we won't even know."

Lea let go of him, and turned away. With a quick glance, he invited his companions to follow him, and they did, followed by Elsa. They closed the ice door behind them, leaving Demyx with Larxene.

"What was that about?" Sora asked, puzzled. Lea bit his lip, his hand on his hair, uneasy.

"This is the riskiest bet I've made in my life. While none of them ever officially mentioned it, or showed it, I had some suspicions when I was still… one of them that there was something going on between the two of them. Something they wouldn't let anyone know. Maybe I completely misunderstood. Maybe they really hated each other as they pretended to. Maybe I've just killed Larxene." He looked at Elsa. "I will take the full blame for that. Her life was now in my hands, so what becomes of her is my responsibility only."

"I thought none of you had hearts." Sora whispered. "But it looks like… I was wrong with so many of you."

"Hey. Don't blame yourself either for anything that happened before. We all came back, Sora. This means you didn't do anything wrong. If anything, you gave us our hearts back. Thank you for that. Now all we can do is hope Demyx isn't as much of a jerk as I fear he might be."

They waited, and waited again. The ice walls were thick, and they couldn't hear a thing from inside the room. After half an hour of waiting, Sora sighed. "Don't you think we should have a look, now?"

"Let's go." Lea addressed a silent prayer for his instincts to have been right. They pushed the cold door, unsure of what to expect.

Nothing. The room was empty. No Demyx, no Larxene. An empty room, an empty bed, the portal was closed.

"Do you think she's…?" Sora couldn't complete his sentence, but Lea chuckled. "I think I was right. Thanks Light for that. Here, look at this."

On the bed (which was nothing but a huge block of ice), something had been carved, the ice slightly melted as if something really hot had been applied to it. "Carving with electricity, huh? Clever," whistled Lea. The carving wasn't anything too elaborate - it was only five words who could have been written by only one person. _I will kill you all_.

"No worries, Sora, I think Demyx saved her alright."

The atmosphere felt much lighter all of a sudden. It was a strange feeling, to have saved someone who would probably try to attempt at your life again within the same week. But Sora couldn't shake off the sweet thought that they had done the right thing.

And the bitter thought that their enemies weren't the monsters he one thought they were, and that they were capable of loving.

 _ **End**_

* * *

 **Bonus(ish)**

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The second they closed the door, Demyx really considered leaving through the portal. What could he do for her anyway? If she was going to die, like Axel said, what would be the point of staying by her side? It wasn't like she was going to notice. To thank him for that. To smile at him, like she used to do when no one was around.

She breathed painfully, gasping, and all of his resolve to run away vanished. He sat on the bed - by far the least comfortable bed he'd ever tried, and took her hand. Should he talk to her? Would she be able to hear him?

"I guess that's fate. You always have to die before me. This is getting old." He chuckled, but even he could hear the pain in his words. Was it his imagination, or did her hand squeezed slightly his fingers? He brushed some hair away from her face with his other hand.

"That's a fitting place for you to vanish, I must say. I think even this palace is warmer than you. You couldn't have picked a better place."

His voice was shaking, now, but he ignored it. He kept on talking, one of his hands holding hers, the other one gently touching her cheek.

"If I were to pick, I'd choose somewhere with a beach. We once went on that mission in that world where there was a beach, remember? That was a nice place. This is where I want to die. Not now, though. It's too early. I can't die just yet." This time, his voice cracked. He felt a tear rolling down his cheek, a feeling he had forgotten. He took off his gloves, then hers. He wanted to be able to feel her skin against his. She was so cold… Had it not been for her faint breathing, he would have thought he was too late.

"I can't die just yet." He repeated in a sob. "And neither can you. You have made a list of people you want to get you revenge on, and you haven't checked a single name on it yet. I hope you don't expect me to take care of it? The duck I can handle, but Marluxia or Xemnas? This is your job, and yours only."

She was leaving, he could feel it. Her breathing was getting slower, her body frosting over. He gripped her hand tightly.

"Larxene, don't. Don't you dare. I only joined the Organization again because you were there. Don't leave me alone with them. Please, don't leave me alone…"

He brought her cold fingers to his lips, tears running down from his cheeks to her hand. He hoped no one would come in - no, he actually didn't care. If she died, nothing would really matter anymore. He would quit the Organization. Find a world with a nice beach, hide there until the end of his days. There was no point in staying with them. She was the point. And she was dying.

He squeezed his eyes shut, keeping her hand against his mouth. He was getting so used of the feeling of her cold skin that she almost felt warm again. He tried not to sob. To stay dignified, for her sake. He knew exactly what she would say if she saw him like this.

"How many times have I told you not to cry? Do you want to be turned into a Dusk or something?"

He chuckled. Yes, that's exactly what she would say.

Exactly what she had said.

The voice had not been in his mind.

He opened his eyes and gasped. She was looking at him, her face turned to him. She looked dizzy, but there was a soft smile on her face, one of those only he ever saw. She looked as beautiful as ever, he thought as she tried to sit up.

"Larxene… You were… And now you are…"

"Silence." She said, using the hand he was still holding to his lip to cover his mouth. "I had a terrible sleep, this bed is horrible, and I am freezing. And worst of all, I wake up to see you ugly crying. Do you think I have time to listen to your babbling?"

He let go of her, wiping his tears away with his sleeve. "I still don't understand what saved you."

She shrugged. "Does it really matter? I'm fine now. That's the only thing you need to focus on. And I second your idea of going to the beach - I would kill for some sun."

He flushed. "You - You heard me saying that?"

"That, and all the harsh things you said before, yes. Adding your name on my revenge list for the fifth time." She winked at him, and he finally allowed a smile.

"Want to take a nap on the sand, then?"

"Sure. We'll report to the boss later. Or we might not report, which could be better. But before that, aren't you forgetting something?"

He frowned, staring at her. "I… I don't see what?" She smirked.

"If I don't have my wake up kiss, I might get grumpy real quick."

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her. "You're always grumpy, I wouldn't have noticed the difference." And their lips locked, hers still a bit blueish and cold, but warming up at the touch of his. They didn't often have some time alone, some time where they would allow themselves to show the feelings they weren't supposed to have - every second of this kiss felt like a priceless treasure to them.

"Now let's leave this horrible place. Find me some sun, Waterboy."

He took her hand with a laughter, dragging her towards the portal.

"Oh, wait, one last thing!" She summoned Foudre, her favourite throwing knife, and carved a thank you note on the bed. Then she flashed a smile at Demyx, taking back his hand. "All ready now!"

They left Arendelle without a glance back. If anyone had seen them, they would have noted that very strange detail about them : their eyes, which used to be pure gold, now glistened with sparkles of turquoise.

* * *

 _ **Real Actual Proper Ending**_

 _ **The narration of this fic is peculiar so I didn't know how I should put it. Demyx's side was really important, but I couldn't put it in the main narration and that was too short for a standalone chapter. I hope you didn't mind it put that way.**_

 _ **While I think it's usually not Sora-like to get angry that easily, he knows Lea wasn't joking there - he meant every word when talking about letting Larxene die, and Sora couldn't allow that. Lea's view of right and wrong is biased by 12 years in the Organization, and he's a practical person ; letting Larxene die was a strategic asset. But of course Sora cannot let that happen, and he needs to teach Lea what is right or wrong (even though that's really subjective), and therefore to get angry like a parent would at a child.**_

 _ **Is Demyx really going to get Norted? I want it as much as I dread it. I don't see how Xemnas/Xehanort would see him as an asset when he's never proven himself to be a good fighter (don't get me wrong he made me ragequit that game, and only Riku managed to do that before, but still), but I would feel incredibly sorry that he is not a Nort when most of the others are (not those from RG, though, when Xaldin or Lexaeus were definitely good fighters)**_

 _ **Aaand now I want to write more about them, so stay tuned, something else might show up some day!**_


End file.
